


Human Habits

by Plankto



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 02:38:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16296674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plankto/pseuds/Plankto
Summary: Zero thinks about some personal quirks, that make his partner who he is.---------This is a first fanfic, that I posted in years. I'm fairly new to this and English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry in advance for the potential mistakes in the text. I hope you'll enjoy this little bit of fluff!





	Human Habits

Zero let the door slide shut behind him. After a two week- long mission it was good to be back in the base. He wasn't particularly attatched to his own room, since he treated it merly as a place to recharge between asigments but it was good to be back after acomplishing yet another objective.

The warbot glanced towards his recharger longingly. He hesitated for a second, before deciding to take some of his armor off. He could gladly lie there in full armor, which he almost always did but X always nagged him about it, insisting that it was difficult to cuddle to him when he had all of his armor on. Eventually he somewhat caved in to his partner's pleas and agreed to, at least remove his chestpiece (only for the nights when X was staying over, of course). 

Zero wasn't too bothered when he realized, that his bond with X grew to be so strong, that it was practically unbreakable. He simply lacked the proper words to describe it other than 'friends' so that was the category he placed them both into. He wasn't very good in the social department, since his primary function was to battle. It started to bother him however, when he realized, that at some point X started to display strange behaviours towards him. He looked at him with unreadable expression on his face and tended to be lost in his thoughts more often. Sometimes he would straight out avoid his friend, as if Zero has insulted him in some way. The warbot had a no-nonsense politics and quickly grew agitated with his friend's unexplained behaviour. One day, after a mission, he cornered him, demanding an explanation.

He never expected to hear a shy "I love you" from his friend. 

According to Zero's data, love was a human feeling: a chemical response strictly tied to reproduction and raising offsprings and so it had no benefit to the reploids. He always knew, that X was designed in a way, that made him bear many similarities to humans... but to this extend? That made him confused.

But then, X explained to him what he meant by his 'I love you' and the description of his feelings matched with what Zero himself has felt for his friend since a very long time. This caught him off guard so completely, that his shocked expression made X laugh out loud. The warbot still remembered the loud drumming, that he felt in his core at this cherished sound. And so their friendship entered a new stage. One, that admitably wasn't too different from before, except that X would allow himself to display more affection towards his partner. That included staying over at his room and sharing a recharger. 

Lost in his thoughts, Zero started to drift into sleep mode, while slowly recharging. Suddenly, he heard a knock to the door, followed by someone typing a code combination to his room. It was X, only he knew the pass code to his room. Besides, only X would still knock to the door despite knowing, that he was being expected. Always so proper and polite- Zero smiled to himself. 

"Hello there!" X's voice was happy despite the tiredness lingering on his face. "It's been a while. I heared, that the mission got a little out of hand?" He said and looked at his partner, inspecting him for a long moment. 

The warbot sighed- a completely unnecessary gesture, that he picked from spending so much time with X and which became difficult to unlearn.

"I am not hiding any injuries from you. I would be in the medical ward if it was otherwise." He replied, looking into X's eyes, as if challenging him.  
"Hmm, I wouldn't be so sure. You always dismiss injuries as 'just a scratch'." X didn't break eye contact.   
"Just because I don't mope over a few scratches doesn't mean, that I don't know my limits: that would be an unforgivable flaw in a soldier." He chided and his tone softened while he added "If you don't believe me, come closer and inspect me for yourself." 

X turned his gaze away in response and blushed lightly- another trait, that was most likely intended to make him appear more human but ended up betraying his feelings to Zero on more than one occasion. The warbot still didn't grasp the full meaning of this expression since, as he had observed before, it could be triggered in X by more scenarios than just the standard "feelings of shame", that Zero's data connected to the action of blushing. And so, he decided to take a more direct approach:

"Why are you blushing?" He asked tilting his head. As per usually, it only made his partner blush even more. Zero found himself intentionally triggering this response, because It made X look endearing. 

"It's nothing! I believe you, just wanted to make sure because you tend to be stubborn sometimes." X scolded with a soft smile.  
"And so are you. You were overworking yourself again, weren't you? Just look at your energy percentage." Zero pointed out and moved to the side of his recharger in order to make some space for X. The blue reploid clearly needed rest.  
"Well, I guess you're right. That makes us a perfect fit for each other." The other reploid responded, starting to take off his armor.  
"...so we could be stubborn together." he added, making X laugh. X's laughter was always contagious and Zero found himself chuckling as well. 

The blonde watched as his partner removed his armor piece by piece, only leaving his pelvic plate, for modesty's sake. 

X climbed into the recharger and nestled next to Zero, immediately wrapping his arms around the taller reploid.

"I missed you when you were gone." He murmured close to his hearing receptor. "I'm glad, that you are back safely."   
"I'm glad to be beck as well." Zero said, not quite sure how to respond to this confession. He still lacked the data to properly process his own feelings so instead, he returned the hug. 

X made a content sigh and listened to the sound of their cores humming next to each other.  
"I like it when you take your armor off." He said finally and kissed Zero on the lips. This human-like display of affection was something Zero quickly found himself getting addicted to. This gesture had no function outside of human courtship. It had no benefit to him- a reploid... but X's lips were warm and soft and he felt his core tingle, sending an electric tremor through his body. Zero's lips moved on their own, mimicking X's movements.

"Why do you recharge without your clothes anyway?" He asked after their lips parted. "You aren't a human to have to take off your clothing in order to achieve a comfortable sleeping position." He pointed out, gently combing his fingers through X's hair. 

The reploid in his arms got lost in his thoughts for a moment.  
"It makes it easier for me to relax, you know, put myself into the mindset of resting. That doesn't even make any sense, does it? I'm sorry, I don't know how to explain it better... Perhaps it's a habit."  
"I do understand it. I just find it dangerous. If there was an emergency, it would take longer for you to get ready for combat."   
"I would still have my buster on." He retorted, leaning into Zero's hand as a silent demand for more head scratches.   
"But no armor." He pointed out while giving his beloved friend all the attention he needed.  
"I can put it on quickly. My speed is higher than many replods', you know that. I admit, I picked a lot of habits from humans but I'm yet to discover one that would hold me back as a Maverick Hunter." At this point he was mumbling, cuddling his face against the crook of his partner's neck. It would never stop to amaze Zero how usually timid X, would become so needy and forward when it was just the two of them in the room.

He grinned to himself, feeling a bit mishievous.  
"Is that so? How about this one, then?" The warbot's hand slid from the blue reploid's head and moved to the side of his torso. Zero started to lightly scratch it with his fingers.   
"N-no hehe!" X immediately tried to move away. "You're tihihickling me!"   
"But it doesn't 'hold you back as a hunter' in any way, now does it?" Zero asked innocently and held him in place with his other arm curled around the other bot's waist, while he continued to scratch and pinch his side.

X trembled on top of him, trying to hold his laughter and fighting to break free from Zero's grip. He failed in both of these things.  
"Hehehe, Ze-hehehe-ro, stahaha-hp!"   
"See? I was able to overpower you so easily." He snickered, enjoying the sound of X's laughter.   
"I will ge-hehehehe-t you back!" X threatened, sounding very unconvincing because of his laughter.  
"You're welcomed to try, though I do not posess human qualities, like you-" 

He didn't finish what he was about to say. In a sudden, swift move, X's hands found themselves on the warbot's chest, attempting to tickle him back. 

Zero immediately stopped moving, overwhelmed by a sensation, that he had never felt before. It felt as if someone was playing with his pressure receptors and voicebox at the same time. There was a tingling feeling spreading through his body and he felt laughter threatening to spill out of his mouth. He bit his lip, trying to stop it and glanced at X. X who had the biggest grin on his face right now. 

"Ohhhh? What was that? You don't mean to tell me that The Mighty Zero himself is ticklish?" He teased and his fingers contunued to scribble all over his companion's chest. 

Zero started to laugh, unable to hold it any longer. He couldn't believe in this nonsense- a machine designed for nothing but fighting and conquering... also happened to be sensitive to tickling. At the same time, it was a glimmer of hope, a reasurance, that he was more similar to X, than he had previously thought he was.

X wasn't trying to overpower him in any way. No, that was something X would never do. Rather, he was curious and slowly made his way from one place to another, testing which areas were more sensitive than the others. Zero didn't protest, still slightly overwhelmed by the new sensations and conflicting data. He simply lied there chuckling. 

Finally, X let go of him and lied down next to him and watched his expression.  
"I didn't know that would actually work..." He admitted, fascination lingering in his voice.   
"Me neither. Why am I even sensitive to this?" He questioned, voice still trembling a bit.   
"Was that your first time being tickled? How was it? Personally, I was completely overwhelmed when I experienced it for the first time."   
"Yeah, so was I. It felt as if I couldn't control my responses." Zero said, after finally stabilizing his voice. "I constantly learn new things about myself when I'm with you, X." 

X sent him a loving smile.  
"I could tell you the same thing. I feel as if I became so much stronger thanks to you."  
"You were always strong, X." Zero put his arm around his partner again. "Never doubt yourself like that." 

X didn't respond to that, instead, he reached behind Zero and moved his ponytail to rest on the warbot's shoulder so he could play with his hair. Zero sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing instantly. He liked it when X brushed or played with his hair. He let the conversation end, not wanting to press X into discussing painful topics while he was so tired. They will surely come back to this conversation one day.

"I'm sorry if I shocked you too much by tickling you. I didn't intend to bully you."

Zero opened his eyes and sent him a grumpy stare.  
"Man, you're too soft. You didn't hurt me in any way. If you did, I would simply move away."  
"...Does that mean, that I can tickle you again sometime?" He was smiling again as if he was really looking forward to exploring this new discovery.  
"I suppose so but be prepared, that I will do it back to you. I never go down without a fight." His eyes sparkled. No matter if it was training or silly wrestling in the recharger, he isn't going to accept defeat that easily. Especially not with X.  
"I am very well aware of that." X chuckled and lied down on his pattner's chest, cuddling to him. "And I'm sure you will remind me again tomorrow in the training room."

Zero observed his relaxed expression for a moment, before placing his hand under his chin and guiding X's face up so he could kiss him. X returned the affection. They kissed for a few blissfull moments until Zero reluctantly moved away.

"Well, yes but I want my sparring partner to be fully recharged. Otherwhise it's not a fair challenge. Let's take some rest, X."  
"You're right. Good night, Zero, my Ticklish Maverick Hunter."   
"...You will never let me hear the end of it, will you?"   
"Not a chance! That was adorable! Come on, don't give me that expression. Here, let me brush your hair until we fall asleep." His hand returned to Zero's golden ponytail. 

The motion was very soothing and combined with the quiet sound of Zero's core humming underneth him, it was enough for X's consciousness to slowly slip into sleep mode. After a long day of work, he will finally get to properly recharge in excellent company. 

Zero watched him with his eyes half-closed, arms wrapped securely around his partner.

"Good night, X. Sleep well."

Soon, he entered sleep mode as well.


End file.
